Making the Bathroom Safer and More Manageable for Elderly People

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Making the Bathroom Safer and More Manageable
for Elderly People
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As is with the kitchen, the bathroom is
classified as one of the most dangerous rooms in
the house. Eighty one percent of accidents in the
bathroom are as a result of falls. Falls can be
due to wet or slippery floors, slipping on or
tripping over mats, objects or furniture causing
obstructions and also because of health problems
e.g. fainting, dizziness, changing eyesight and
changes in mobility. In later years, senior
people with health conditions may need
adaptations and specialist equipment in the
bathroom. These needs may be as a result of
weakening grip, balance problems,
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c ustomerservice_at_essentialaids.com mobility diffi
culties, sight deterioration, arthritis, lack of c
onfidence and many other age-related changes in
health Falls Whilst a young adult may be able to
withstand a fall, the more elderly person may
break bones, receive a more significant blow to
the head due to less agility and grip to save
oneself from the fall and be more likely to
suffer from shock and its sometimes severe
consequences. The most common causes of falls are
wet and slippery floors, shiny tiled surfaces
which offer reduced safety and mats that may
move underfoot. Falls can happen in the bathroom
itself, as well as within the bath or
shower. Bathroom floor surfaces are most often
tiled. Pay attention to the tile finish i.e. a
matt or stone finish is safer than the shiny
tile, as spilt water is less likely to cause
slipping on the rougher surface. Small mats on
that same shiny surface can slide under ones
feet and cause a bad fall. Always check that the
mat you want to purchase has a non-slip
underside.
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• Addressing the flooring in a bathroom will be a
  major factor in
• preventing falls.
• Steadying Oneself In and Out of the Shower / Bath
• When youre unsteady on your feet, getting in and
  out of a bath has its own dangers. Getting one
  leg out and onto the floor can unbalance the
  individual and lead to a fall.
• For walk in showers, a shower chair gives the
  user better balance in the sitting position and
  will help avoid falls from any weakness in the
  legs.
• For wheelchair users, a wet room is the ideal
  situation, as there is no step to mount upon
  entrance.
• A shower chair on wheels can be used to enter the
  wet room and can also be used to move around the
  bathroom.
• A shower chair with lockable wheels adds more
  safety to bathing alone.
• For people who are unsteady on their feet, a bath
  board can make it a lot easier to get into the
  bath. With the bath board fixed to the top of
  the bath, the procedure is to-
• sit on the bath board, with your legs still on
  the floor
• turn and move towards getting your feet into the
  bath

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• edge along on the bath board, to be within the
  bath tub
• space itself
• with the use of grab rails, ease yourself into
  the water
• reverse the procedure for getting out of the
  water.
• A specifically-designed grab handle can be fixed
  to the bath board (at the side furthest from
  entry into the bath), or a grab rail can be
  attached to the wall at the appropriate position,
  to make entering and leaving the bath a less
  worrying feat.
• A non slip bath mat which attaches itself to the
  bath base or shower base via suckers can be a
  lifesaver. For those who can stand in the
  shower, or for climbing into the bath, the non
  slip bath mat gives you a safe base to stand on,
  builds user confidence and also steadies the
  individual when climbing out of the bath /
  shower
• Toilet Height
• The standard height for a toilet tends to be
  around 17 inches (42.5 cms.).
• Age brings with it a weaker body frame, which
  makes sitting down and standing up appear a
  challenge. Altering the height of the toilet can
  make these manoeuvres easier and safer.

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c ustomerservice_at_essentialaids.com A height of
20 inches (50 cms.) to 21 inches (55 cms.)
proves safer for seniors, as stooping is reduced
and the distance to regain full upright posture
is also reduced. Extra toilet height can also be
accomplished by fitting a thicker toilet seat. A
toilet booster seat can also be easily clipped to
the original toilet seat and add up to four
inches (10 cms.) to the overall height of the
toilet. Booster seats are easily detachable for
cleaning and also for using the toilet at its
regular height. Some shower chairs with wheels
are also designed to be positioned over the
toilet. With a horseshoe aperture cut out of the
shower seat, using the toilet can be done from
there. Changes to Eyesight Ageing eyes make
reading glasses a common need amongst elderly
people but age also brings other changes to
eyesight (e.g. macular degeneration, glaucoma,
clouded vision, loss of peripheral vision and
loss of three-dimensional vision). Changes in
eyesight create a need to adapt to new
circumstances, in order to support residual
vision for the task in hand.
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c ustomerservice_at_essentialaids.com Identifying
the exact location of light switches, and
maybe dropping them to a more accessible height,
can be supported by lighting being directed
towards them. Bright lights will not necessarily
be the right choice for someone with a visual
impairment. Choosing calmer lighting may prove
more appropriate, as well as more
soothing. Larger light switches, as well as
strongly coloured switches, will prove more
identifiable. Brightly coloured towels which
dont blend into the wall colouring will help
the individual locate the towels more
swiftly. For personal grooming, a magnified
mirror might prove useful e.g. shaving, cleaning
your teeth and applying make-up. Other Safety
Concerns A fall could lead to the individual
bumping his / her head or upper body against a
bathroom fixture. Look for wash hand basins and
cabinets with rounded corners, instead of sharp
ones, to lessen the chance of broken skin causing
bleeding. Fit grab rails in appropriate places
(you cant have too many), to give mobility
security to the individual when moving around in
the bathroom, or even when standing still e.g. to
clean ones teeth.
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Appropriate places for grab rails include entry
into the bathroom, near the toilet, outside the
shower / bath, inside the shower / bath and at
the wash hand basin. Grab rails can be fitted
horizontally, diagonally and vertically,
available space or the task in hand maybe
dictating the best position to employ. Give
serious thought to storage in your bathroom. Keep
regularly used items at arms length, avoiding
any need for the elderly person to have to
stretch or stoop to reach what is needed. Slide
doors, or even no doors at all, may be more
appropriate on bathroom cupboards, as opening
and closing doors sometimes involves stepping
back, to give room to the door. Whilst the
individual in the bathroom will wish to lock the
bathroom door for privacy reasons, a double-sided
lock can ensure quick entry into the bathroom in
emergency situations. Medication as well as
ageing can cause neurological damage to the
skin, leaving the person unable to register that
water temperatures may be far too hot for them.
An ideal temperature for bathing is around 45 C
/ 113 F and anything hotter could lead to
serious burns and scalds.
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c ustomerservice_at_essentialaids.com Getting the
right, preset, temperature for bathroom taps
is a safe way of reducing the risk of burns or
scalds. A mixer tap also has an advantage over
two taps, as achieving a safe temperature
involves using only one hand. If the bathroom
door is not wide enough for a wheelchair to
enter, transferring to a shower chair with wheels
for entry, and for moving around in the
bathroom, could be the answer. Choose grab-style
handles for cupboards and drawers rather than
knobs, as these can also serve as grab rails for
holding onto. Mirror height may need to be
adjusted for those working from a wheelchair or
shower chair, as standing up to use a mirror at a
regular height could lead to a
fall. Summary Even a slight change can make a
big difference. Non-slip flooring in a bathroom
will be a positive measure in preventing
falls. For a shower over a bath, two grab rails
at different heights will be needed, one for
getting out of the bath, the other for standing
up in the shower and for getting out.
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c ustomerservice_at_essentialaids.com A shower
chair with lockable wheels will prove much safer
than a shower chair without locks on the
wheels. Sliding doors on cupboards will make
access both easier and safer. Contrasting
colours and also light direction will help people
with visual changes navigate and locate with
more ease. NB - Please note that, stepping into a
temperature which is at the extremes (very cold
or very hot) will cause the user to jerk
backwards, so having the right temperature ready
to step into is a major factor in safety in the
bath or shower. Blog an Originally Posted Here
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-safer- more-manageable-elderly-people.html
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